The Republican Right of Way on Natural Gas

The Philadelphia Inquirer has been running a terrific series on the changes being wrought now that Governor Tom Corbett has determined that Pennsylvania should become the Saudi Arabia of fracking for natural gas. Today's episode demonstrates the limits of the Republican love for "limited government," and "local control," and "devolving power down to the communities" when there's big cash money (!) to be made on the other side of things.

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The nut graf, as we used to say in journalism school (and we do mean nut graf), comes here:

In what is shaping up as a key victory for the shale-gas industry, Gov. Corbett and the legislature appear close to stripping municipalities of the power to impose tough local restrictions on wells and pipelines. Under a pending measure, wells and pipelines would be permitted in every zoning district — even residential ones — statewide. Two pipeline companies are seeking the clout of eminent domain. While the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has yet to rule, it signaled this year that it was leaning toward giving firms condemnation power to gain rights-of-way for their pipelines.

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The basic Republican conservative equation seems to be this: Local Control — Good For Teaching Creationism In Schools, Bad For Helping Rich People Get Richer. However, there is a certain logic here: We are going to take your home. We are going to throw you, your wife, and your four small children out on the road so we can build a great big pipeline. On the other hand, when we finally get around to poisoning the drinking water for the next five generations, you'll probably be living somewhere else. When it blows up, you'll likely be out of range. Scoreboard!